Page 9 of Fierce Monarch

It took less than a heartbeat to realize he knew.

One of the only things Mari had said before she’d shut down on us in the car was that she wanted to keep things quiet, just for a few hours. Just until she wasn’t so fucking raw. We’d kept our mouths shut, but it hadn’t been enough.

I wasn’t sure how, but the glint in Joaquin’s eyes told me he understood what had happened and was using it to his advantage. Honestly, it made sense. If he was going to overthrow Mari, he would do so when she was at her most unstable, which was now.

The thought made me nauseous.

Careful to keep an eye on him, I casually grabbed a mat, laying it out near the mirror so I could stretch. With Mari in danger, I couldn’t afford even a pulled muscle. As I moved my body, falling into the routine of it, I realized Joaquin wasn’t alone. The other capos were there as well. Hmm, all of Mari’s uncles in the same place at the same time on a day that was monumental in its danger…that was totally innocent.

I may have been born at night—but not last night. I knew what they were doing.

No one spoke while I stretched or when I moved to the bench, adjusting the weight so that I could do some presses. It wasn’t until I was occupied with my warm-up that Joaquin walked over, eyes at the ready like he was spotting me.

“I’m good,” I said casually, not wanting him hovering over me. If he wanted to get to Mari, Greyson and I were a good place to start, and a well-placed drop could take me out. Death by barbell.

Fuck that.

Keeping my focus on my form and my muscles, I let the silence fester, but Joaquin stayed where he was. “What would our queen say if she found us letting you work out without a spotter in such troubling times? No. I think I’ll keep an eye on you.”

As if he hadn’t already been doing that. Feeling other eyes on me, I decided I wasn’t in the mood for subtlety. “You don’t give a fuck about what she thinks.”

For a split second, there was a tidal wave of shock, then Joaquin threw his head back and laughed. “My niece is an incredible woman. She’s smart and savvy and stronger than most people think, but she’s also weak.”

Thinking of everything Mari had endured, everything she had done and overcome to create the safety in the city that we were profiting from at this very moment inside a building she had prepared to keep her people safe, I wasn’t sure how they could ever consider her weak.

As if he could hear my arguments, Joaquin continued. “She let that boy into her home when she knew nothing about him, and now look at us. We’re steps away from war.”

“That wasn’t her fault.” It was Nate’s for lying. It was Moore’s for getting a false background check. It was Rafael’s for getting a doctored file on Cash, one that conveniently erased his little brother.

None of it was Mari’s.

“She’s still a liability.” Gabriele gave me a significant look, but I didn’t need him to finish. Liabilities didn’t survive our world. “You, on the other hand, have been nothing but helpful since you returned.”

I snorted, reracking the barbell and sitting up to add more weight, but Joaquin was already doing it. I watched carefully and tried not to point out the hypocrisy of Gabriele’s statement, considering he was conveniently forgetting the fact that I had disappeared for twenty years and been out of contact with Mari for the better part of ten. “You’re looking for a scapegoat.”

I saw Joaquin’s grin in the mirror as he leaned on the bar behind me, all malice and misinterpretation. “Am I, though? We both know you’re meant for something more.”

I narrowed my eyes at the not-so-subtle threat, then lay back, taking the bar again to continue my reps. The last thing I wanted was to be vulnerable, but when swimming with sharks, you had to pretend they were beneath your notice. You had to be the predator. “I’m not interested.”

“We didn’t make you an offer yet.”

Yet. Fuck, I’m going to have to tell Greyson. We knew they’d make moves, but we thought we had more time. “Is there an offer to be made, Joaquin?”

He smirked. “You know there is.”

“With everything I know about the Marcosas—and I know a lot now—taking over involves killing off the old regime. I’m not interested in killing the woman I love.” It was probably a mistake to admit that I had a weakness for Mari, but they weren’t blind. If they didn’t know it already, they were being intentionally obtuse.

Joaquin scoffed. “Of course not. Your generation is soft.”

“And yet you’re asking me for a favor.”

“Not a favor. Consider it a job offer.”

Another press. My arms were starting to burn now, but it helped me focus on the land mines we were crossing. “Not interested. I like the job I already have.”

Joaquin’s laugh was just short of a bark. “Of course you do. The job you already have lets you get your dick wet when you want.”

“Watch yourself,” I snapped. Part of me wanted to keep going until I knew exactly what he wanted from me and for Mari, all of his plans, but he didn’t get to talk about her like that. No one got to talk about her like that.

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